EB5 Investors Magazine is pleased to announce the Top 5 Business Plan Writers. To be eligible, distinguished business plan writers needed to draft business plans for groups involved in EB-5 funding.
For more information or to contact any of these professionals, we invite you to view their listings at www.EB5Investors.com/directories.
PHIL COHEN
Phil Cohen is the president of Strategic Element Inc., and a vice president at Altytude Advisers. Strategic Element has been offering professional services in the EB-5 industry since 2010, including business plans, economic impact reports and feasibility studies, and has participated in offerings totalling over $3.5 billion in EB-5 capital. In 2018, Cohen expanded his involvement in the EB-5 industry by participating in the development and launch of Altytude Advisors to address EB-5 redeployment. Cohen regularly speaks at and participates in EB-5 events and conferences, including: EB-5 Investors, iGlobal Forum and AILA, and was also the founder of The EB-5 Definitive Guide.
WHY DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN THE EB-5 INDUSTRY?
The EB-5 program provided an opportunity to become a part of an industry that offered the dual benefit of helping to make the American Dream a reality for many people, while at the same time facilitating investments into businesses that would both, contribute to the growth of the American economy and the creation of jobs. A win for all involved.
WHAT NEW TYPES OF PROJECTS AND TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING IN THE EB-5 INDUSTRY DURING THE PANDEMIC?
Projects have been competing for fewer available investors during the pandemic, and at the same time restaurants and hotel projects experienced a noticeable slowdown, due to the direct impact of less travel globally and inter-regionally.
WILLIAM DEAN
William Dean is VP of Immigration at Masterplans, an Inc. 500 business plan writing company founded in 2002. He directs a senior team of market research and financial modeling experts who create visa-ready plans through referrals from 300+ law offices nationwide. Dean specializes in reviewing client files and RFEs to help E-type, L-1A, EB-2, and EB-5 applicants obtain their visas. He first encountered EB-5 in 2008, and since then has overseen more than 2,000 visa business plans. Dean is a frequent speaker at investment immigration conferences. He previously worked at the law firm Stoel Rives, and earned his B.A. from Brown University.
WHY DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN THE EB-5 INDUSTRY?
I joined Masterplans in 2005 as a staff writer, preparing plan content for people’s SBA loans and researching angel investment opportunities. As we encountered more E-2 and L-1 visa requests, I pivoted to writing those business plans, educating myself on the various criteria along the way. Eventually, I was tasked with creating the business plan that became the backbone of the I-924 filing for a new regional center in Florida, which USCIS approved in 2010. By then, I was focused exclusively on immigration and business development, actively networking with attorneys and training our staff on the different business and investment visas.
WHAT NEW TYPES OF PROJECTS AND TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING IN THE EB-5 INDUSTRY DURING THE PANDEMIC?
Someone on a webinar observed that the past year has revealed precisely how deeply embedded EB-5 is with the travel industry. Marketing projects, securing investors, even coming to the U.S. to scope out a direct investment opportunity – all of these have been massively complicated by travel bans and COVID. On the heels of 2019’s higher investment minimums and TEA changes, it’s put EB-5 into a slumber. Fortunately, there’s significant interest in the E-2, and the intracompany transferee L-1 visas are back in play after Trump’s freeze in 2020. Despite the recent political turmoil and social unrest, America’s shores still hold great appeal.
SUZANNE LAZICKI
Suzanne Lazicki is a business writer and consultant specializing in the EB-5 program. In a decade since founding Lucid Professional Writing, Lazicki has written hundreds of business plans for regional center and direct EB-5 projects, and a variety of plans and market reports for non-immigrant investments. She holds a B.A. in English literature (summa cum laude) and Master of Business Administration. Lazicki runs blog.lucidtext.com, providing EB-5 news, data, and analysis to readers around the world. Her published work includes articles on business plans in the third and fourth editions of Immigration Options for Investors & Entrepreneurs, published by AILA.
WHY DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN THE EB-5 INDUSTRY?
I got involved in the EB-5 industry in 2009, when EB-5 represented hope for U.S. projects struggling with the recession, and for immigrants shut out of other categories and countries. I recognized a niche that fit my education and international background, and a challenge. As a business plan writer and reporter, I strive to bridge the gap between theory and practice, and to use my experience and expertise to help make EB-5 work for entrepreneurs and investors.
WHAT NEW TYPES OF PROJECTS AND TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING IN THE EB-5 INDUSTRY DURING THE PANDEMIC?
The EB-5 market suddenly became less crowded in 2020. The pandemic on top of the EB-5 price increase and TEA changes decimated supply as well as demand for EB-5 investment opportunities. As the field cleared of competition, a few issuers and project companies positioned themselves to capture lingering EB-5 demand and any post-pandemic resurgence. I wrote new EB-5 business plans for projects of familiar type – mainly real estate developments – but unique in their viability even under pandemic conditions. I also wrote many business plan addenda, responding to the USCIS trend of issuing Requests for Evidence for EB-5 project status updates.
MARISA MARCONI
Marisa Marconi is the founder and lead writer at Pinnacle Plan Writing. She has 14 years of experience in the business planning industry and has developed more than 1,000 business plans for visa petitions, including 375 EB-5 plans (direct and regional center). She formed Pinnacle in 2016 to focus on developing thorough and highly–tailored plans for the immigration market. Her portfolio includes plans for small to large companies and projects in almost every industry. Marconi holds a degree in English from Columbia University.
WHY DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN THE EB-5 INDUSTRY?
I started focusing on immigration and the EB-5 industry back when the program was really starting to gain traction and swell with interest from China. As the requirements for EB-5 business plans became more stringent and specific with Matter of Ho, it became apparent that regional centers and investors would benefit from professional writers and researchers that understood the EB-5 market. This type of work is meaningful to me, not only because these projects create jobs for local communities, but because the plans I develop also contribute to helping immigrants find their place in the U.S.
WHAT NEW TYPES OF PROJECTS AND TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING IN THE EB-5 INDUSTRY DURING THE PANDEMIC?
Through most of 2020 I wasn’t seeing very many projects, but I was seeing a few that were related to infrastructure and production related to the pandemic and supply chains. Now that the economy is starting to pick up again, I am seeing more projects. The types of projects are more varied than in the past. I have seen just as many infrastructure, manufacturing, and related projects as traditional real estate development projects. I’ll be interested to see what this year brings with the reauthorization deadline on the horizon this summer.
PAUL MONSON
Paul Monson is director and partner at Joorney Business Plans. Serving the industry for over 7 years, Monson is the go-to business-planning expert for hundreds of immigration attorneys. He is well–known in the industry for his creative, customized approaches to aligning business plans with clients’ immigration strategies for even the trickiest of EB-5, E-2 and other business visa applications. Supported by a large team of diverse, multi-lingual professionals, Monson has overseen thousands of immigration business plans, market research reports, financial models, and pitch decks for EB-5 investors and other business immigrants.
WHY DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN THE EB-5 INDUSTRY?
Becoming involved in the EB-5 industry was a natural evolution for me. When I joined Joorney Business Plans in 2014, I was primarily focused on other types of immigration business plans like the E-2 and L-1. The company rapidly became a trusted provider, and we were able to sustainably scale to producing more than 3,000 business plans a year. As our expertise developed, we began adding other types of business plans and business documents to our repertoire based on the needs of our clients. This eventually led to becoming immersed in the unique and complex requirements of the EB-5.
WHAT NEW TYPES OF PROJECTS AND TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING IN THE EB-5 INDUSTRY DURING THE PANDEMIC?
While it’s unfortunate to see the number of distressed businesses that have resulted from the pandemic, it has opened up opportunities for EB-5 investors. Overall, I have seen a lower volume of EB-5 applications this past year, but several have been direct investments into troubled businesses. As a result, I have seen a heavier reliance on job maintenance to satisfy job creation requirements. It seems several EB-5 investors have been able to find deals on promising businesses while saving jobs that may otherwise be lost. I think, EB-5 investors are likely to play a significant role in our economic recovery.
EB5Investors.com Staff
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